Ryan Getzlaf rocketed toward the Chicago Blackhawks’ net with the puck and the game on his stick late in the third period Wednesday night. The Ducks’ team captain wasn’t at his best in a game that demanded nothing short of perfection after falling ill with flu-like symptoms earlier in the day.

But the Ducks were only minutes away from defeat and Getzlaf put his game into overdrive, first setting up Bobby Ryan for the tying goal and then Teemu Selanne for the go-ahead strike in a 4-2 victory in front of a record sellout crowd of 17,610 at the Honda Center.

Second-best simply wouldn’t do for the Ducks (22-3-4), who rallied to defeat the league-leading Blackhawks (24-3-3) with goals from Ryan and Selanne only 1:04 apart during an electric finish to a game that seemed to feature one lightning bolt after another.

Sheldon Souray added an empty-net goal in the game’s final minute to extend the Ducks’ franchise-record home winning streak to 13 in a row.

It also was their second victory of the season over the Blackhawks after a shootout win Feb. 12 in Chicago.

This one lived up to the hype from the start, with the teams trading goals and sending a crowd that seemed to be almost evenly divided between Ducks fans and Blackhawks rooters into a frenzy. Peter Holland scored for the Ducks only 1:24 into the game, but Jonathan Toews countered for Chicago.

Nick Leddy put Chicago ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal in the second period.

Then, with the game up for grabs and the teams trading scoring chances with a seemingly endless string of rushes down the ice, Getzlaf proved why he is worthy of the eight-season, $66 million contract extension the Ducks gave him earlier this month.

Getzlaf was treated for his illness and was unavailable for postgame comment.

Others praised him for putting the team on his shoulders when it mattered most.

“We have great leadership,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Getzlaf could barely get out of bed this afternoon with the flu and he comes in and he’s not strong enough to take faceoffs and yet he still gets two assists in the last eight minutes and sets up the winning goal.

“That’s what leadership does. It was a great way for Teemu to break out of his slump, but that’s leadership. Everybody knows their role and everybody played it. I thought (Getzlaf) was going to have to get an I.V. or something (between periods), but he didn’t.”

Selanne’s goal was his first since March 1 against the Minnesota Wild and ended a nine-game drought for the 42-year-old future Hall of Fame right wing. It also was the 670 th of his career, tying him with Bryan Trottier for 15 th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

Getzlaf raced toward the net from the middle of the ice and fed Selanne, who was cutting toward Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford’s net from the wing. Crawford was a nanosecond too late to stop Selanne from scoring the 107 th game-winning goal of his career.

“The third period has been our period the whole season, and we came through again,” Selanne said. “I don’t know about a statement (victory), but we looked at it as a test for us.

“I don’t think we played that well, but it’s very positive that we found a way to win.”

Selanne said of Getzlaf, “He comes through when the time is most critical.

“That’s what the best players do. He’s playing an MVP season right now and it’s fun to watch. Obviously, ‘Getzy’ is one of those guys, if you get open the puck is going to come.”

Also …

The Ducks played without winger Corey Perry, who served the fourth and final game of an NHL suspension for an illegal check against the Wild’s Jason Zucker on March 12.